Fee: $75 for those in the California library community and Infopeople Partners, $150 for all others.

Are you looking for an opportunity to learn basic library cataloging and classification? Update your knowledge with new developments in the field? If so, this online course is for you.

Through practical information and hands-on exercises, you will gain an understanding of cataloging practices, rules, and tools, as well as the nuts and bolts of copy cataloging. New developments―such as Resource Description and Access (RDA), the Library of Congress genre/form headings project, and Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) subject headings―will be discussed as well. Tips on copy cataloging of newly emerging formats, such as e-books, graphic novels, and download media will be offered.

At the end of four weeks you will feel comfortable with the basics of cataloging, classification, and MARC records and be ready to begin copy cataloging items in a variety of formats.

Course Description: This four-week online course will provide an overview of library cataloging and classification and prepare you to do copy cataloging. Through reading materials, short video presentations, an online forum, and individual exercises, you will gain knowledge of basic cataloging rules and tools, commonly used controlled vocabularies, the Dewey Decimal Classification system, and MARC21 format. Applying this knowledge, you will be able to decode MARC bibliographic records and perform basic copy cataloging. The course will briefly discuss some new developments in cataloging rules and practices.

During the course, you will be doing assignments and taking quizzes. You will also participate in discussion forums and online meetings as part of the online learning process.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

Instructor: Xiaoli Li. Having worked in both public and academic libraries, Xiaoli Li has a wide range of experience with cataloging. She is an active advocate for continuing education and a trainer for "Cataloging for the 21st Century," a Library of Congress initiative. She has made numerous presentations and authored several journal articles on serials control. She chaired OCLC Post Pinyin Conversion Cleanup Project and planed several major projects for the libraries where she has worked, including Yale University Libraries, University of Washington Libraries, and most currently UC Davis.

Time required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 to 2½ hours per week, with options for further study and application. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, it is recommended that you complete each week's assignments within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone from the library community with an interest in learning the basics of library cataloging and classification. This course is particularly focused on the needs of public library staff newly assigned to copy cataloging tasks. Those taking the course must have a working knowledge of the integrated library system (ILS) used in their libraries. The instructor will provide more extensive work with the Dewey Decimal Classification system than with alternatives, but Library of Congress and other classification systems currently in use will be discussed as well.

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.